Flocking Transition in Confluent Tissues

TL;DR

This paper investigates how alignment interactions influence collective cell migration and tissue phase transitions using a self-propelled Voronoi model, revealing mechanisms behind tissue fluidization and solidification.

Contribution

It introduces an orientational feedback mechanism in a Voronoi model to explain collective migration and phase behavior in confluent tissues, connecting to experimental observations.

Findings

Alignment promotes collective motion and tissue solidification.

Model reproduces behaviors of jammed epithelial monolayers.

RAB5A enhances cell motility and large-scale migration patterns.

Abstract

Collective cell migration underlies important biological processes, such as embryonic development, wound healing and cancer invasion. While many aspects of single cell movements are now well established, the mechanisms leading to displacements of cohesive cell groups are still poorly understood. To elucidate the emergence of collective migration in mechanosensitive cells, we examine a self-propelled Voronoi (SPV) model of confluent tissues with an orientational feedback that aligns a cell's polarization with its local migration velocity. While shape and motility are known to regulate a density-independent liquid-solid transition in tissues, we find that aligning interactions facilitate collective motion and promote solidification. Our model reproduces the behavior observed in jammed epithelial monolayers, which are unjammed by the addition of the endocytic protein RAB5A that promotes cell motility by inducing large scale coherent migratory patterns and local fluidization.